Vacation Day 29: Islands of Adventure

Today we woke up for an early start to Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park. It’s a little further from our house than DisneyWorld, so we were trying to leave the house by 7:30am. Of course, that meant we ACTUALLY left at 8:15. Oh well. We drove through BK for breakfast and were on our way.

We got really good parking this morning, even though we didn’t pay for the upgraded premium parking. And there were moving walkways to take you to the parks, so it wasn’t as tiring as it could have been!

We got started by buying the kids hats, because we couldn’t find them this morning when we were trying to leave. Aiden picked a Spiderman hat, and Jeremy picked SpongeBob. We tried our hardest to keep those kids wearing those hats forever it seemed. They lasted about an hour before we gave up. They kept taking them off all the time. *sigh*

Entering Islands of Adventure

The first ride that we hit was the Incredible Hulk roller coaster. It’s the first thing you come to when you enter Superhero Island, and it’s usually pretty popular so we wanted to hit it right away. Drew ran into a little snag, as he didn’t realize that using a locker is mandatory for this ride, so he got all the way up to the front with his camcorder and they sent him back. So Vavu got to ride it twice – once with Uncle Howie and then again with Andrew when he got done stashing his stuff.

By the time the guys were done on the Hulk, it was time to meet Aiden’s favorite – Spiderman. He does greetings at the Marvel Superhero store. We got in line, and Jeremy tried to run right up to Spiderman right away. The crowd got a kick out of that.

On our turn, the kids went right up to Spidey. They weren’t apprehensive at all. Spiderman asked them if they were using their teamwork and communicating with each other. Aiden said yes. He told them not to give each other knuckle sandwiches, and to eat their green vegetables. He posed shooting web with them, and right when they were ready to leave, he noticed Aiden’s Spiderman shoes. He took off one of the shoes, grabbed a Sharpie, and signed it for Aiden. It was so cool!

Aiden's shoe: Signed by Spiderman

After we met Spiderman, it was time to ride the ride. It was so sad that Aiden isn’t tall enough. He would really like to go on the ride, just because it’s Spiderman, he really felt like he was missing out. He got a pressed Spiderman penny instead, and Drew, Maria, Howie and Vavu went on the ride. It was really great! It’s in 3d, and you are moving in a ride vehicle that spins and bumps around. There’s even one part that simulates your vehicle falling off the top of a building and Spiderman catching you with his web. It’s pretty exciting! Not for the faint of heart. Those villians come right at you in 3D – with all their weapons!

Aiden wasn't tall enough for Spiderman :-(

Next we headed into Toon Lagoon, the area centered around Sunday paper comic strips. It’s really well themed. There are little cartoon thought bubbles all around that you can stand under. It’s pretty funny!

First thing, we ran into these huge pipe things spewing water. Of course, the kids were instantly attracted. And since they hadn’t been on any rides yet, they had been getting kind of cranky. So round and round they ran through all that water. It was nice, because it was hot today, especially in that sun. So they had a good time and some instant air-conditioning.

Next, it was the adults’ turn to get wet. Little did we know just HOW wet! We decided to ride Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges. As we were boarding, the attendant informed us that this is one of the wettest rides in the country. And she wasn’t kidding! Maria, Drew, Uncle Howie and Vavu rode in a raft together and they were SOAKED by the end of the ride! People getting off the ride were stopping along the side of the sidewalk to wring out their clothes. There was major water coming into that raft!

After the ride, we wanted to hit Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls (a flume ride), since we were already wet. But the kids were pretty cranky, because they just had to sit (again) while we rode the barges. So we decided to move along into the Jurassic Park area instead, where they could participate in some of the fun.

There is a play area called Camp Jurassic for the kids where Aiden and Jeremy went to play. It had slides, caves, climbing nets, and more water! Vavu made an observation that was very accurate – Universal has a lot of water in their parks in terms of attractions. It’s probably because it’s always so dang hot! One of the kids’ favorite things in this area was the Echo Cavern. You yell in it and you hear an echo. The kids yelled into it for a long time. They would yell, “Mommy!”, and “Daddy!”, and their names and other random things. After Aiden left the Cavern, he was walking down the sidewalk saying things and making his own echo effect after. It was funny!

Aiden wanted to ride the Pteranodon Flyers, but they looked a little advanced for him, and the wait was 45 minutes. Plus, Jeremy was screaming his head off once we put him back in the stroller. So we decided to move along to the next area: the Lost Continent.

With Jeremy still screaming, we entered the Lost Continent, and found relief. A popcorn cart! Popcorn is one of Jermey’s favorite things. And he never barely gets to eat any. So this was perfect timing. We bought a big ‘ol tub of popcorn, and boy was he one happy camper! It allowed us to sneak Aiden on the “Flying Unicorn”, a small rollercoaster for kids. Aiden really likes rollercoasters. As soon as we were done, he wanted to go on again. But we had to move on – so much more to see still!

Popcorn making Jeremy happy

Aiden was plenty tall to ride the Unicorn Roller Coaster!

After the ride, Aiden wanted to ride again.

On our way through the shops, we passed by a Magic Shop that was getting ready to host a magic show in a few minutes. So we popped in to see the show. Andrew got some really good video of it – the dude was making things levitate – like people’s pennies out of their pockets and playing cards and other stuff. He also sold kits and DVDs of how to do some of his tricks. It was fun.

We suddenly happened upon the restaurant Mythos – a place where Maria and Drew ate on their honeymoon and really enjoyed. It’s been the top theme park restaurant in the world for the last 5 consecutive years. Since it was lunchtime anyway, and the crowds were really light today, we decided to give it a try for lunch, if we could get in. We didn’t have to wait for seating AT ALL! It was so nice. Monday is a really good day to visit Islands of Adventure. There were virtually no waits anywhere. Of course, we were toward the front of the crowd, as we arrived at park opening.

Mythos was great, and the prices were very reasonable for such good food. The kids got to color on menus that turned into chef’s hats. Aiden was more interested in ripping his menu apart than wearing it as a hat, though. Oh well.

After lunch, we decided to let the kids have fun in Suess Landing. That’s where most of the rides for little ones are. There are a lot of big rides at Islands of Adventure with lots of height restrictions. And it’s not too fun for the kids, until you get to Suess Landing for the most part. Thank goodness for Suess Landing! We spent the rest of our day there, riding all the rides, and seeing the retelling of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” in a musical production. It was nice to see the kids having fun, and to be able to take them on the rides with us. We rode the “Caro-Suess-el”, “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”, “The High in the Sky Suess Trolley Train Ride”, and the “Cat in the Hat”. The kids also met some Whos from Whoville, who were decorating everything in sight for Christmas – even the children!

The Grinch

The Grinch with Cindy Lou Who

And he hitched up old Max...

The "Caro-Suess-el"

The Cat in the Hat Ride Really Spins You Around!

Vavu and Jeremy on One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Aiden on One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (he rode with Mommy, but she was taking the picture)

It was already past the time we were supposed to be back home, so we had to leave. We were shooting to get home around 3, which of course meant we got home at 4:45. Jeremy took his medicine, and everyone went to bed for a nap. Until 8pm! Oh I hope the kids don’t wake up tomorrow morning at 4am...please, no!

Tired kids at the end of the afternoon

------------------------------------------
The best part of day 29 was Mythos, Grinchmas, the Decor of the Resort (good theming), meeting Spiderman.
The worst part of day 29 was when the kids were cranky, that Aiden wasn’t tall enough for the Spiderman ride.
What we learned on day 29 was a kid can’t grow 1.5 inches overnight, even if it’s to ride Spiderman.
The weather on day 29 was hot in the early day, overcast and less hot in the afternoon.
Our character sightings on day 29 included Cat in the Hat, The Grinch, Thing 1, Thing 2.
The crowd level on day 29 was so incredibly light. I hope it’s like this everyday at Universal!